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11 June 2024, United Nations Headquarters, New York: Accessible crisis preparedness and crisis communication Persons with disabilities faced greater risks and were more affected by disasters and emergencies than the rest of the population. What could be done about that? The Nordic side event at the UN COSP17 focused on this topic, gathering state representatives, international experts and disability organizations.
Persons with disabilities need to be consulted and actively involved in the development and implementation of national and local strategies for crisis preparedness, said Swedish minister for Social Services, Camilla Waltersson Grönvall.
Anita Hørby from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Housing, and Senior Citizens in Denmark and Even Aleksander Hagen from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality gave examples of accessible crisis preparedness on a state level.
The Covid 19-pandemic had led to changes in several countries, as it clearly showed missing links in crisis preparedness. Pernilla Börjesson from the Swedish Agency for Participation talked about what had been learned in recent years and the way forward.
Lucie Davoine from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion talked about crisis preparedness from an accessibility legislation perspective. New guidelines for accessible crisis preparedness in Finland included the important perspective of “What can I do myself?”, explained Päivi Nurmi-Koikkalainen from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.
Saowalak Thongkuay from the UN Committee on Rights of Persons with Disabilities encouraged society to empower people with disabilities as agents of change in crisis preparedness.
Three disability organizations gave their view on the topic. The Swedish Disability Rights Federation was represented by Niklas Mattson and Marina Carlsson. Ida Hansson representing the Youth with Disabilities Federation Sweden said that adequate plans must be made long before something disruptive happened.
The side event was hosted by the government of Sweden and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The moderator was Ola Balke from the Swedish Agency for Participation, and final remarks were made by ambassador Anna Karin Eneström, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations.
For more information about the conference, please visit: https://social.desa.un.org/issues/disability/cosp/17th-session-of-the-conference-of-states-parties-to-the-crpd-cosp17
Source: UN Permanent Mission of Sweden